PM said he should not comply with financial rules to receive constituency allowance

by Linda Straker

• As of 2024, all MPs in the Lower House began receiving allowances lodged in a constituency account at a local bank
• Prime Minister told Parliament that he is yet to receive his allowance for 2024
• Chinese Embassy in Grenada and Levera Hotel Project developers are funders of projects in the Constituency of St David

Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell who represents the Constituency of St David in the Lower House of Parliament is of the view that as a Member of Parliament (MP) he should not be required to comply with the financial rules of the state to prove how he used the EC$10,000 constituency allowance allocated to elected representatives.

As of 2024, all Members of Parliament in the Lower House or the House of Representatives began receiving the allowance through the Office of Parliament. The money is not given directly to the members; it’s lodged in a constituency account at one of the local banks. The accounts were opened by the Office of Parliament with the relevant MP and a staff of the office being the 2 signatures on the cheque book. Expenditure reports are then required every quarter to ensure that they comply with the financial rules of state funds.

While contributing to the 2025 budget debate on Tuesday, 11 March, the Prime Minister told Parliament that he has yet to receive his allowance for 2024 because he doesn’t see the need to open an account for the allowance.

“There are 3 branches of the State: the Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary. The Executive is responsible to the Parliament; Parliament is not responsible to the executive, so when the Executive passed into law at last budget that an EC$10,000 constituency allowance should be given to an MP, Mr Speaker I don’t need to open no bank account to get the EC$10,000,” he said. “Whether it’s EC$10,000 in cash, whether it’s EC$10,000 in cheque you need to give me the money so I could represent and help support the people of St David,” he told the House, before pronouncing that he can account for the money whether it is cash or cheque because, “If I spend it, I get a receipt for it,” he said.

He told the House that he may have to invite the residents and the constituents of St David to come down to the Parliament building and protest for him to get his constituency allowance. Despite not getting his constituency allowance, he said that he was able to source resources to aid in the realisation of different projects in his constituency.

These include building of play areas and community centres. He named 2 of the funders as the Chinese Embassy in Grenada and the developers of the Levera Hotel Project.